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When Felicia Griffin-Fennell was invited to participate in a CLAS alumni career panel for psychology and human development and family studies majors in the fall of 2013, she was excited to share her personal experience with research at UConn and how her professors inspired her to pursue her passion for psychology.

The panel was part of an ongoing event series sponsored by CLAS and UConn’s Center for Career Development that invites young alumni and seasoned professionals from a particular field back to Storrs to engage with current students. Alumni panelists share their personal career experiences and advice, take questions from the audience, and network with student attendees at each event.

Griffin-Fennell says that the skills she learned as an undergraduate and graduate student researcher proved to be valuable in her current work as an independent researcher and director of the STEM Starter Academy at Springfield Technical Community College. There she ensures that freshman get a jumpstart in math before entering college through a pre-college summer bridge program and receive continued academic support throughout the year.

After sharing these experiences at the career panel, Griffin-Fennell was approached by Samantha Micael ’14, then a senior majoring in human development and family studies. This initial interaction sparked a mentoring relationship, which was facilitated through the CLAS Career Advisor Program.

“Samantha was a bit nervous about her career aspirations and her graduate prospects, but I think that’s typical for anyone who has the passion and the drive that she has,” says Griffin-Fennell.

The pair had monthly check-ins about academics throughout Micael’s senior year at UConn. Griffin-Fennell provided advice about what programs would give Micael an advantage when applying to graduate school, such as participating in undergraduate research.

The best piece of advice Micael said she received was to “stay calm and that it was going to work out in the end.”

With the guidance of Griffin-Fennell, Micael reached out to a professor in her department and participated in research during her senior year—an experience that Micael says opened doors to other opportunities and showed her that she was capable of doing graduate-level work.

A year after the mentorship began, Micael is now attending Drexel University for graduate studies in family therapy. She hopes to become a licensed family therapist and help children living in urban environments.

Griffin-Fennell continues to be involved in the CLAS mentoring program and hopes to participate in future career events to help more students like Micael.

“A lot of students get nervous when they think about their careers,” Griffin-Fennell says, adding that she often tells students not to get hung up on their particular degree because the skills that they learn can prepare them for many and diverse opportunities.

Want to participate in an alumni career panel? Contact Caitlin Trinh, director of alumni relations for CLAS, at caitlin.trinh@uconn.edu.

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.